- Hours before the incident at Seigaku: Rikkai Dai -

Kirihara was a little annoyed as he saw Atobe, the snob zoom past him in his very expensive limo. He felt competitive, and Kirihara didn't think it was too bad to join in. Kirihara started a light jog and entered the school just to hear the school bell ring, telling students that the lunch period was over. Kirihara knew where his teammates would be at this moment. Usually they would all enjoy a session of tennis and he knew he was going to get it from Sanada when he arrives.

"Akaya, you have a logical excuse for missing our lunch practice?"

Kirihara shifted from side to side wondering what could be the best excuse… a smile crept up upon his lips as he groaned and replied

"Girls…"

He showed them the candy hearts he had 'supposedly' acquired from the girls. Marui Bunta suddenly appeared beside him, with an arm slung around Kirihara as he said cheerfully,

"What a coincidence! Me too! Yummy! Candy hearts!"

Bunta doesn't hesitate when it comes to food, he picked it up and ate one. Everyone in the room was silent when they saw Marui Bunta's chosen outfit. Marui Bunta was in a maid outfit! They hesitate to ask but Seiichi Yukimura who was still not changed asked with a serene smile on his face.

"Bunta, what happened to you?"

Bunta who was trying to get his hands on another candy heart stopped much to Kirihara's relief.

"Well, the girls said if I wear this… I get to have a lot of cakes!"

The team broke into a small smirk as Niou burst into peals of laughter, and soon everyone knew whose fault it truly was.

"All I got was a cupcake and I spent my time running around with a signboard saying, 'Cakes'. Wait… NIOU! You did this? Not funny! I didn't have many cakes and now I am pooped."

Niou stifled his laughter when Sanada looked livid… Niou was going to be in big trouble when he gets to the next practice.

"So Kirihara, who gave them to you?"

Kirihara was locked on saying someone but it wouldn't make sense for her to be anywhere around school premises. He just went for a different approach to the answer as he shrugged.

"I don't know. I was forced to listen to her serenade to me and sprinkle me with candy hearts."

Every team member turned to Niou who in turn began to shake his hands and head before lifting his arms in the air as he said

"Wasn't me!"

"Besides, I don't like eating these. Maybe you all could help?"

"ME ! ME!"

Yukimura didn't mind as he took one and popped it into his mouth before saying in a kind tone.

"Everyone, better take one and be off to class."

With that Yukimura went to change his clothes. Renji Yanagi saw the hopeful look in Kirihara's eyes and decided it was best to help out one of his closest friends. He smiled as he took one from Kirihara's palm and slipped it into his mouth before he too went to start changing.

Genichiro Sanada sighed as he had to do the very same thing Yukimura since no one really wants to disappoint or push away such a kind offer. He went towards Kirihara with a warning look in his eyes as he carefully selected his candy heart and popped it into his mouth and headed to the shower cubicle to wash off the sweat he had accumulated by pushing the team in practice.

Masaharu Niou smirked, candy hearts. He would make that happen to someone else. One man's embarrassment is another man's entertainment. He walked away after placing his candy heart into his mouth and keen on mischief. He was going to pull on a few pranks before the day was out, busy day and he enjoys it like a cup of coffee on a terrible day.

Renji Yagyu poked one of the candy hearts it seemed so familiar as if it was being used in an experiment before, surely Inui's? But then it wasn't right… It just so happens that Inui is using these candy hearts for his experiment and that today a girl bought it from a shop to shower it on Akaya Kirihara right? Has to be coincidental… Watching everyone looking normal busying themselves with their day, he convinced himself they were normal candy hearts. He popped one in, and tasted the substance. Relieved, that it only tasted sweet and it doesn't have a taste of chemicals in the sweet.

Kuwahara Jackal liked Candy hearts but never had an opportunity to buy some for his own pleasure smiled as he took one grateful of the opportunity presented and went off to change. Kirihara happier that everyone had taken one popped one into his mouth, realizing he had more and saw Bunta eyeing them with watery mouth. Kirihara gave the four to Bunta whom greedily took them all! After a few moments, Bunta stood up, his eyes burning with a desire… everyone was surprised he wasn't laughing or joking… He looked serious. Yukimura who had just finished changing into his traditional male Yukata for the tea ceremony asked

"Where are you going? Back to the cafeteria?"

Bunta replied with a shout which caused everyone to lift their eyebrows in surprise.

"No! I am going to go and see someone! No time for FOOD!"

Niou was recording this smirked in approval. Blackmail material is very sweet… but even he blinked several times because what Bunta said, for it didn't vouch for him being in character. Bunta never places anything before food. Yagyu grew suspicious but he didn't say a word and was hoping to spit it out, but just his luck he had already completely dissolved it.

"Kya… Yukimura sempai is so handsome in his yukata and making tea…"

"Yeah! He is so dreamy! He makes the best kind of tea… even I dream of getting one myself!"

Yukimura smiled and waved at the girls' direction, making them swoon. Everything was just fine until something in his body awoken. The image of the girl he loved appeared in the water and he just knew… he had to say it to her… much more today and now.

"Excuse me,"

Yukimura said, the longer he stayed the more vehement he would have to become. Something in him was pumping adrenaline and that if he didn't respond to those out bursting feelings, he may well be prepared to die. Without another word, he rushed past his fans and out of school. No he wasn't going to wait any longer!

Yanagi was in class, looking out the window less than enlightened by his teacher and as far as he was concerned it wasn't too hard to understand. Staring out the window… suddenly he leaped out of the chair in fright, causing all his fellow classmates to look at him in surprise.

"Sorry sensei, excuse me,"

Yanagi practically ran out of the classroom. All his classmates who knew where he was staring at looked but only see a clear blue sky. Just what did Yanagi see in the sky that scared him? UFO? The classmates all stood up and approached the window and saw Yanagi practically joining Yukimura and running out of school as if they were going to do something important.

What made their eyes enlarge was the fact that Sanada has just left the building… clad in a towel only! Girls screamed and guys looked like goldfishes. No one could make sense of the situation! What is going on with them?

Yagyu was in his lab coat, his first two buttons were unbuttoned due to the heat of the lab. He sighed, he had been hearing odd things. For example… Sanada clad in towel, Yukimura in a yuukata as well as Yanagi in a normal uniform all ran out of the school premises based on something.

"Yagyu sempai, could you smell this for me?"

His partner flirted, Yagyu sighed as he took a whiff and all of the sudden, his posture snapped straight up. This smell… funny… of all the places he should be able to smell it… never in a lab! Something drove him to the edge for this… Without hesitation he could conclude to what the rest of his team members were thinking of… A WOMAN! Yagyu too, had to see her… Plenty of questions and he had something important to say!

"Sorry sensei."

That was all Yagyu managed before he too was off in a blinding urgency to get to a particular high school. On his way out, Jackal was passing by. Jackal was surprised to see a rather flustered and hurried Yagyu. Yagyu was always calm if not… evil but never so flustered. Jackal could not explain it, because Akaya was next!

"AKAYA! Where are you going?"

Akaya didn't want to waste time, he felt like this itch to say something is more or less like an itch you can't scratch let alone stand for even one minute. He had to see Sakuno, even if it was the last thing he had to do… he didn't worry that he may get punished by Sanada or even the headmaster. This has to come first!

"I am going to Seigaku!"

Jackal worried for his friend, followed as he tried to catch up with both Yagyu and Akaya's frantic pace. There is something strange bout the two of them… but Bunta had said something around the same lines… they were all eager to say something to someone. He may be heading towards the source of all this confusion and he wasn't one to let it slip by. He had already heard some juicy gossip about Sanada in a bath towel. That wasn't expected… wasn't expected indeed.

Somewhere else in the school, Niou was cheekily setting his traps. He had eluded the class sensei for leaving a bucket of water balanced precariously on the top of the door. So he was busy setting up a crazy trap this time, covered in red paint! He chuckled to himself as he looked at his masterpiece. There was no way he was going to… an urge gripped his body and the instant it did… Niou forgot about his every self planted trap and stepped into every one of them. Soon enough, he was drenched in red paint, he lost his shoe to a superglue and lost his school jumper for reasons untold. He wasn't the least bothered. What he was most bothered about were the words unsaid… towards the one girl he actually likes.

There were rumors and gossips as to why the bachelors of tennis were running out of places in the most unbelievable fashion. Rumors were that most of these bachelors were actually only targeting one place in the whole of Japan. That is Seigaku middle school. This time, they were very right to say so…

~ To be Continued ~